31 Things Before 31! The List

As many of you know, my husband ran off and joined the Army (well, just the Army National Guard) and will be heading to basic training this fall. Inspired by a friend’s similar project and a desire to keep busy, I’ve decided to complete a list of 31 Things to do before I turn 31. I’ll officially start in September, but am so excited I may just start tackling them now!

1. Join Toastmasters.
2. Go to yoga at least twice a week for a month.
3. Walk, bike or bus everywhere for a month.
4. Start a worm bin.
5. Take the motorcycle endorsement course.
6. Can something.
7. Dress up in disguise and go out.
8. Dye part of my hair a funky color.
9. Make soap.
10. Go dumpster diving.
11. Do a long detox.
12. Go out dancing without social lubrication.
13. Build something made of wood.
14. Crochet a shawl.
15. Go to the Everglades.
16. Read Walden.
17. Try out hooping.
18. Go to a raw foods restaurant.
19. Take a trip by myself.
20. Go to a Quaker meeting.
21. Make a souffle.
22. Go to a contra dance.
23. Learn to french braid my own hair.
24. Go to a rock climbing gym.
25. Sew a dress or top.
26. Go skinny-dipping.
27. Publish a simple e-book.
28. Create a timeline of my life.
29. Write a book proposal.
30. Silk screen something.
31. Take a hot air balloon ride.

I'll try to tackle 2-3 a month, but may be more focused this fall while Greg's gone.

Thanks to Colleen for this great idea! I know that others have started their own lists, so I can't wait to see what everyone will accomplish this year.

Living Local: The One Less Car Challenge

The UF Office of Sustainability launched their One Less Car Challenge on August 23. This initiative charges students and staff to find alternatives to single-rider commutes. While I can't sign up for the challenge, I hope to find alternatives to my daily drive and possibly start a similar program with the county.

Currently, my commute is 5 miles one way and should only take 15 minutes by car (I have to hunt to find parking and often have a five minute walk in addition to driving). It takes over 30 minutes by bike, and I'm still working on a safe and efficient route. The local public transport, RTS, charts my commute by bus at one hour, with a transfer and extended walk involved.

For those of you commuting in Alachua County, I discovered that FloridaWorks offers GreenRide, a web-based carpooling system, free of charge. I'm considering registering for this service and carpooling on the days that I opt not to bike.

My ultimate goal is to become a one car household. My challenge will be One Less Car for the fall season, so I'll report how it goes soon!

Have a safe week,
Carrie

Homemade Habits: Baked Doughnuts

I've been craving sweets and doughnuts this month. I found this recipe for Baked Doughnuts and tried it tonight. They were easy to make, and I feel a little less guilty knowing they were not fried. I made the dough and let it rise. Instead of using a biscuit cutter, I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter and did not cut out doughnut holes. This dough cooks fast - I actually only put them in for 6 minutes and they almost burned, so watch out!

Next time around, I'd like to mix in some whole wheat flour, and instead of dipping them in melted butter and coating them in sugar, I might try filling them with some sort of fruit.

I had a ton of dough left over, so I'll probably bake a batch for work tomorrow.

Yum!

Reused/Repurposed: Freecycle

I am finally using the Freecycle community here in Gainesville. I've always been wary of the rash of emails that might appear in my inbox on a daily basis, and I've signed up before but never used the service. But, we recently purchased new curtains for our home (not homemade or repurposed, shame) and need to rid ourselves of the hideous floral vertical blinds that once framed our windows.

The beauty of Freecycle is that I don't have to meet these people. Buying and selling on Craigslist is a pain. I have to meet strangers, nervously haggle a price, or risk being stood up. Tomorrow, a nice lady is coming by the house on her lunch break and picking the blinds up from the curb. Win.

I'm going to purge my belongings again, thanks to an inspiration from the 100 Thing Challenge. I won't go this extreme, but nothing is more cleansing than a good purge.

Freecycle Tally:
OFFERED: set of ugly vertical blinds
TAKEN: I responded to a post offering a free Kombucha starter, but have yet to receive a response
WANTED: a pitchfork

Homemade Habits: Natural Deodorant

As I'm experimenting with being more natural and thrifty/cheap, I'm slowly replacing my products with homemade alternatives. This morning's experiment was replacing my spray antiperspirant. I checked out Janice Cox's book Natural Beauty at Home and intend to slowly recreate many of the simple recipes in this book. However, for today's potion I followed this recipe.

I combined the following in a clean spray bottle:

1/8 c. vodka
1/4 c. water
3 T. witch hazel
5-10 drops of essential oil (I used a lavender/tea tree oil mix I found at Ward's)

I found it very easy to make and was surprisingly not offensive (at least odor-wise) when I got home from a very hot bike ride.

I'm looking forward to No More Dirty Looks (a book about the toxicity of OTC cosmetics) and plan on buying or checking it out from the library soon.

Living Local: Quick Farmer's Market Meals

I work a 9 to 5 and often do not feel motivated to spend a long time in the kitchen prepping lunch or making dinner after work. It's also been so dang hot and the thought of heating the oven for an hour makes my sweat glands and thermostat go into overload.

For lunch and snacks, I've been making a lot of Green Smoothies. These are a great way to eat more fruits and veggies, and are convenient for those of us who eat while doing other things (working, driving, or other inadequate forms of multi-tasking). My general recipe is a handful of green leafy veggies (local kale, spinach, romaine, or celery), a banana or other very sweet fruit, and one other fruit such as berries. Blend the greens with 8 oz. water, and then throw in the banana and other fruit. Voila! You'll have some cool sweet goodness to cart along for a mid-morning snack or light lunch.

Tonight, I had my aspirations set on a clean-out-the-fridge crustless quiche, but I got home too late to let it bake for 40 minutes and heat up my semi-cool kitchen. I've always been one to follow recipes, but lately I've been a bit more avant-guard with my dishes:

I greased a microwave-safe dish and mixed together four beaten eggs, a handful of cheese, some local kale & tempeh, and a few spices. Microwave for 7-8 one minute intervals, and enjoy a quick, inexpensive, and semi-local meal.

Homemade Habits: Hot Pockets

I love convenience foods, but I've always felt guilty buying Hot Pockets, meal replacement bars & drinks, and sodium-filled instant soups. Instead, my goal is to stock my cupboard and freezer with higher quality items that offer a similar level of convenience and better taste.

Yesterday's experiment was homemade Hotpockets. I used the recipe posted on the Our Best Bites blog.

For filler, I used local tempeh and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Before...

The recipe called for me to bake them for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, but since I was using a toaster oven I baked them longer at 20-25 minutes.

The end result was pretty tasty - but bland. I should have chopped the tempeh into smaller chunks, added an additional sauce and more cheese. I froze the leftover eight pockets, and I hope these will be a convenient fast food to grab for work. I'll experiment with different fillings (apple and brie, cheese and broccoli...yum!).

Next up, homemade baked doughnuts!